The Office of Campus Planning and Design (CPD) is under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Vice President for Facilities. Its staff is typically composed of architects, intern-architects, interior designers, project managers, facilities coordinators and administrative support personnel who respond to the functional needs and aesthetic concerns of the College.

ARCHITECTURE A University Architect is a licensed N.Y.S. Registered Architect (R.A.) who serves as an in-house professional consultant on the design and implementation of College-funded projects and major capital projects.

The Assistant Vice President for Facilities and the University Architects work closely with CUNY's Office of Facilities Planning, Construction and Management, the Department of Space Planning and Capital Budget, and, the Department of Design, Construction and Management to ensure that good contextual design permeates the integrated programmatic, financial and physical planning process. This includes:

collaborating on the development of preliminary design guidelines, conceptual design analysis, cost analysis, evaluation of alternatives, and implementation of schedules for projects being scoped for inclusion in the capital budget;

collaborating with the Vice President for Finance and Administration on the evaluation of project-specific knowledge, skills and abilities of architectural and engineering consultants, and participating in the selection process;

assisting in the presentation of project development for the approval of CUNY's Facilities Committee and CUNY's Board of Trustees for projects costing more than $500,000;

representing Kingsborough Community College on University committees, when required.

SITE AND SPACE PLANNING Areas of responsibility also include site planning and design, which involves the expansion and alteration of parking lots, the creation of new vehicular roadways, exterior ramps, pedestrian walkways, and the selection of site furniture and site amenities. Space planning is another area of responsibility where Campus Planning and Design is frequently involved with. The Campus Facilities Officer and the University Architect both serve on the College's Space Committee, which meets periodically to address the ever changing space needs of the College community.

INTERIOR DESIGNInterior design represents a substantial portion of the work produced in Campus Planning and Design. All interior design projects are closely supervised and monitored for code compliance by one of our University Architects, who is also a licensed N.Y.S. Certified Interior Designer (C.I.D.), accredited by The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). In addition to aesthetic concerns, Federal laws such as The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and local laws such as the N.Y.C. Construction Code and the N.Y.C. Fire Code almost always influence interior design projects. Typical projects range in size and scope from the design of a small faculty office for more efficient use of space, to the total redesign of an entire suite, or Department, including the replacement of all furniture, furnishings and interior finishes. Most interior design projects often involve, and require the close coordination of input from other areas such as: Information Technology Services, Buildings and Grounds, Environmental Health and Safety, Property Office, and Public Safety.

BUDGET PLANNINGAt the beginning of each fiscal year, Campus Planning and Design identifies projects to be presented to the Vice President for Finance and Administration for consideration, approval and funding. The list of projects is then prioritized, with health and safety projects given top priority. The Assistant Vice President for Facilities assists the Vice President for Finance and Administration in selecting those projects to be funded in any given fiscal year.

CAPITAL BUDGET PREPARATIONThe Assistant Vice President for Facilities is responsible for preparing the Capital Budget requests that are periodically submitted to CUNY for consideration and approval. Projects that are typically in excess of $2 million are State/City bonded. Projects that typically range from $50,000 to $1.5 million are usually funded either by the Borough President's Office or by the City Council.

CODE COMPLIANCECampus Planning and Design continuously monitors each phase of a project for compliance with a myriad of Federal, State and local codes, which include: building, fire, health and other codes, regulations, guidelines and reference standards.

Although most of Kingsborough's buildings and facilities pre-date The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the College is committed to making all of its facilities fully accessible, in compliance with Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and pursuant to The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and its subsequent revisions.

Kingsborough has made a considerable investment over the years in its plan to greatly enhance accessibility throughout the campus and to generally improve its facilities for the benefit of the physically challenged. Today, every building on campus is provided with at least one accessible route and most exterior areas are now accessible via curb ramps, entrance access ramps and other exterior ramps.

As part of this effort, numerous Emergency Rescue Areas have been created on the upper floors of the buildings throughout the campus, combined with strategically located emergency telephones to assure a swift response to any emergency. The locations of emergency telephones and rescue areas have been augmented by an array of directional signage on walls, area signage on ceilings, instructional signage for the operation of the emergency telephones and wheelchair symbols painted directly on stairway landings to designate the exact locations of each Emergency Rescue Area.

Elevators have also been equipped with two-way communication devices and a campus-wide public address system has recently been installed.

Other improvements in recent years include: ADA-compliant alterations to most restroom facilities; lowering public telephones for wheelchair access throughout the campus; the installation of automatic sliding entrance doors and/or automatic "push button" door openers; the installation of braille signage, curb ramps and other site ramps; the installation of magnetic hold-open devices on heavily used public corridor doors; the ongoing replacement of doorknobs with ADA-compliant lever-type door handles; the creation of new ADA-compliant parking stalls throughout the parking areas on campus; the installation of ADA-compliant lecture room student tables, exterior dining tables and computer lab stations; the installation of ADA-compliant gymnasium bleachers and ADA-compliant lockers; the widening of the heavily used traffic circle (opposite the Administration Building) to accommodate Access-A-Ride vehicles more safely; the installation of ADA-compliant rails at the beach patio steps, the Library main entrance stairs and other exterior areas around the campus; numerous upgrades to existing interior fire alarm systems incorporating new strobe lights and enhanced audible devices to improve safety for the sight and hearing impaired; etc.

Every interior alteration project, or any new installation which the College undertakes is carried out in full compliance with ADA law and each fiscal year the College assesses its transition plan with the goal of continuing to improve its facilities for the benefit of the entire College community. As such, new ADA-related improvements are constantly being planned and implemented.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTPlanning for the long-term use of our buildings and their various spaces is a shared function of Campus Planning and Design, Buildings and Grounds and the Vice President for Finance and Administration. This includes: life-cycle analysis of major building components, utilities and equipment, renovations, rehabilitation and planning for future expansion.